


For a Better Future, a Better Life

by Rhaized



Series: The Madonna and Baby [1]
Category: His Dark Materials (TV), His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass (2007)
Genre: AU Teenage Marisa and Toddler Lyra, Angst, Gen, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Set on a Farm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:14:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27361813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhaized/pseuds/Rhaized
Summary: "Where's your mummy?" Marisa asked the girl then, voice measured. "We should get you back to her. I'm sure she's very worried about you."For a reason the toddler didn't entirely understand, she let out a cry. It was a frustrated cry, as if to say, "come here right now." She again put her arms out and practically fell onto the blonde-haired woman in her pursuit of Marisa. It was the only thing in the world that seemed to make sense to the child in that moment. It was instinctual, natural, visceral.-or-Where toddler Lyra wanders over to a barn party her teenage mother Marisa is hosting, feeling connected to the beautiful dark-haired woman in a way she can't quite explain and in a way that makes the woman in question completely melt.
Relationships: Lyra Belacqua & Marisa Coulter
Series: The Madonna and Baby [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1998481
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	For a Better Future, a Better Life

**Author's Note:**

> This story first came to me in a dream a few months ago, where I saw (and felt!) a toddler Lyra climbing up into a pickup truck and finding herself somehow drawn to a teenage Marisa. I shared this idea during a WIP meme on tumblr, and both little-tayy and thesevenwondersofawitch said they'd like to see it. So, here it is (further refined) as part of a new series dedicated entirely to Mrs. Coulter and Lyra one-shots: The Madonna and Baby :)

**For a Better Future, a Better Life**

* * *

It was almost dusk as a little girl with golden blonde hair and pale blue eyes tumbled forward toward an old, rusted pickup truck parked outside of a large, wooden barn. It was filled with hay and, most prominently, a small group of people. Their voices carried over to the little girl as she moved ahead, tripping over herself and gurgling happily. Her daemon trotted beside her as a red fox. His little feet were light as he practically danced over the rough, uneven ground of the farmland. They moved together in unison as one—the same beat to a timeless song. 

Music blared from an old radio resting on top of the truck. It was a catchy tune from a modern singer over in the city. The people gathered in the bed seemed to hardly register it, however, as they talked and laughed their way into the slowly-approaching night. They were all young—no older than seventeen or so. There were three men and four women, all huddled together in the extra-long bed. They barely had room to move around, yet still the little girl came over to them, her steps slow but determined as she finally reached her destination. 

It took a little effort, but she managed to climb onto the tire of the truck, her daemon pushing her up as a small but formidable grizzly bear. After pausing a moment to catch their breath, they hoisted her up onto the bed, right next to one of the unsuspecting party goers. 

"Oh," he let out at the sight of her, blinking twice as if making sure she were real. The little girl cooed and giggled at him as his eyes widened and he flinched away, clutching the gray can in his right hand. The girl paid him no mind, however, as she turned her attention to a woman sitting exactly diagonal from her. 

She was beautiful and young, with dark hair curled perfectly around the frame of her thin face and rosy cheeks. Her eyes were the lightest shade of blue that danced in the flickering twilight as she listened to her companion sitting next to her, a blonde woman who was laughing and glancing shyly at the boy sitting on the dark-haired woman's left. The woman wore a long burgundy skirt and a very short and tight tube top. Her daemon sat just behind her on the top of the truck by the radio, snarling at the other people. He was a golden monkey whose paws and muzzle were stained onix. 

The little girl kept staring at the dark-haired woman. Something inside of her couldn't help but stare at the woman with her crinkled eyes and easy laugh and presence so light it could carry you off into the wind. The other people in the truck gravitated to her, too, leaning toward her as she laughed and brushed against the blonde woman's arm. They moved when she moved, it seemed, pulled around her magnetic force. 

This woman was magical, the little girl somehow felt in her bones. This woman was the one she had been looking for. Even her daemon felt it as he inched closer to her, his form a small ermine now. 

As a few of the other guests stopped to consider the child, another person entered the scene. She had smooth yellow hair and a small, curvy build as she approached the truck, stopping just behind the dark-haired woman and her many admirers. The woman's daemon, a stiff lizard, eyed the monkey daemon coolly before shifting his focus back to his human. He nodded to her then, as if providing encouragement. 

"Marisa," she finally said to the dark-haired woman. The chit chatter quieted down as Marisa paused mid-sentence, her lips curving up to form the hint of a smile. 

"Maman," she said, her voice light and sweet like a violin's solo. She was about to say something more when her blue eyes swiveled to her right and in doing so caught the gaze of the little toddler girl. 

Everything stopped just then—the talking, the rustling, even everyone's breathing. The golden monkey lowered the dial of the radio, even, as Marisa and all of the others continued to stare at the little girl. Some of their mouths were hanging open, dumb struck at who this little girl was and how she'd made her way onto the truck. Everyone except Marisa, that was, and Maman. 

"Who is this child?" Mamon asked Marisa, her voice low and sharp. The older woman knew. She sensed it in the very core of her being, like one sensed their own shadow peeking from behind them. Call it mother's intuition, maybe, but she knew upon looking at the child that it was Marisa's. And she asked Marisa directly now to challenge her, to taunt her. The lizard clicked accusingly at the young woman and her golden monkey daemon, both so poised and so calm in the middle of everyone's astonishment. 

For her part, Marisa continued to stare at the child and her golden blonde hair and dirt-flecked face and pale, wide eyes—almost the same shade as her own. She watched the girl reach for her, almost, her little hands flicking toward her and her tiny shoulders rounding forward. Her ermine daemon was getting awfully close as well, the monkey noticed. After a few more moments, Marisa simply shrugged.

"Why, I have no idea," she laughed, easing the tension and causing her friends to laugh, too. The air felt considerably lighter between everyone then as the sun sank almost completely out of sight. "Hello there, little one. Who are you?" 

The child reached out for the woman in earnest then, her feet stumbling forward and her arms stretched out completely in front of her. The girl didn't know why she did so, but it was if by instinct. She just knew she needed to go to this dark-haired woman. Her daemon did, too, and was almost by her side before the woman suddenly shifted so that she was squished just behind her blonde haired companion and the young man to her left. 

"Where's your mummy?" Marisa asked the girl then, voice measured. "We should get you back to her. I'm sure she's very worried about you."

For a reason the toddler didn't entirely understand, she let out a cry. It was a frustrated cry, as if to say, "come here right now." She again put her arms out and practically fell onto the blonde haired woman in her pursuit of Marisa. It was the only thing in the world that seemed to make sense to the child in that moment. It was instinctual, natural, visceral. 

"Alright then, hush now." Sighing, Marisa gently pushed her friends aside and then picked the child up. She felt an immediate surge of energy flow through her then. The girl smiled wide as the woman took her in her arms and propped her up on her knees, looking her up and down slowly and carefully. The monkey jumped down from the top and cautiously sniffed the ermine, who squeaked while still inching dangerously close to the hem of Marisa's skirt. 

"Lyra," the woman said aloud, her hand playing with a locket hung around the child's neck that spelled out l-y-r-a. "Is that your name, dear? Lyra?" 

Lyra nodded and fell happily into Marisa's arms as if crawling into a warm and comfortable bed. Marisa gasped as the child simply melted into her, little fingers curling around her neck and squeezing tight as her little cheeks rested against Marisa's shoulder. The girl's daemon finally found his nerve and hopped onto Marisa's lap, too, stretching out to lay across her. It was cold and shocking yet hot and familiar in a way Marisa couldn't possibly describe. It quite sincerely took her breath away. 

"We should, uh, maybe we should go," the boy to her left said awkwardly. Marisa ignored him as she continued to hold the child in her arms, moving now to rock her gently in tune with the light breeze that fluffed her hair. The sun was gone now as her companions jumped off the truck one by one, muttering their departures before laughing and picking back up into the groove of their conversations as if nothing at all had happened. Marisa kept staring at a rusted bit of iron on the truck's tailgate, her body frozen. 

"Marisa," Maman sighed, and then Marisa was back to herself and this moment and her reality. Lyra still clung to her neck, breathing slowly and cooing gently. Her daemon looked as if he'd fallen asleep, and the monkey wanted very much to poke him in the side. 

"I don't know how she got here," Marisa said suddenly, her voice so low she might have barely whispered.

"She seems to recognize you," Maman noted, voice hard again like the cool iron of the truck. "This clearly can't be the first time she's seen you."

"I haven't seen her, Maman."

"You're lying."

"Honest."

" _Lies!"_

The older woman's shriek was enough to rouse the pacified child. Lyra jumped out of Marisa's embrace then and looked behind her over at the older woman, her blue eyes wide again. They then quickly narrowed as the girl leaned forward and let out a strict, adamant "no!" over at the older woman. 

"Well, well, well," Marisa let out, not able to help the satisfied sneer that slipped through her teeth as the golden monkey likewise sniggered beside her, the girl's daemon resting on his shoulders. She moved to pat Lyra's back approvingly, and the child turned again to face her, eyes bright. She then leaned forward and pressed her lips to Marisa's, and Marisa felt such warmth and such comfort that even the sharp rake of Maman's nails on her back didn't hurt in that moment. 

"She must go back at once," Maman was saying when Marisa had climbed out of the truck, Lyra still in her arms. The child clung to her tighter, sensing the harshness of the older woman's tone. Marisa shushed her and ran her hand through the girl's hair, causing Lyra to close her eyes. She was so very tired, the girl only just seemed to realize, and she felt so warm and so safe draped there in the dark-haired woman's arms. 

"I know," was all Marisa said as she slipped on her shoes and then started walking down a dimly lit path. 

"Don't be foolish, girl," Maman snapped at her. "I'll take you in the truck."

"No," said Marisa curtly, not bothering to look back or waste more breath. She was aware of her mother huffing and shouting some more, but she ignored it, turning instead to kiss the side of Lyra's face and press her nose to the girl's ear as she continued down the road. 

She knew that she shouldn't be doing this. It was too much, for the both of them. Too painful in the end, really. Marisa had to lie in front of her friends and hide her true feelings from her mother and it was all too, too much. Yet at the same time, it was never enough. Nothing was enough for Marisa. Quite quickly, she felt herself begin to weep. 

This would be the last time, she promised herself, already seeing the building in the distance. She told herself this every time, but now she really meant it. The golden monkey would hold her to it, she determined, making a mental pact with him as they approached a downtrodden little farm house with soft yellow lighting peeking through the front windows.

"Here she is," Marisa sang to the woman who opened the door. The woman was tall and dressed in drabby overalls as her blue eyes grew wide before she leaned forward to take Lyra from her arms. 

"She keeps a wanderin’ away from me," the woman apologized, "and I keep thinkin' she's with someone else. I'm so sorry, miss."

"It's no bother at all," Marisa offered back, her eyes locked on Lyra as she fidgeted from the sudden movement but then curled herself around the new woman's neck and shoulders. The girl let out a sigh and then her breathing began to slow. She looked comfortable in the other woman’s arms. Content. Safe. 

_This is for a better future,_ Marisa told herself as she made her way back to the barn and the truck. _A better life._ She couldn't help the tear that fell from her eye then and slowly draped its way down her cheek. Her daemon moved to plant himself on her shoulders, his little hands weaving around a dark braid mixed with her curls. They walked back in respectful silence, neither one allowing themselves to say it. And that was fine by Marisa, as she looked up to gaze up at the now-visible stars and just the very hint of the moon. Some things didn't need to be said. They could be felt, and monitored, but never said. And so they didn't say it, for as long as they could bear. 

* * *


End file.
